Edit

Edit

Originally Posted by ufale

As promised: http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edi...id=8z79jRuHCkk

Link is weird. It takes me to my own channel.

Does this work?

Eflite Scimitar Hand-launch 2 (0 min 28 sec)

Originally Posted by ufale

Does this work?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z79jRuHCkk

Yes, works now and even embedded.
I found that so hard to believe that I had to replay it 4 or 5 times. It's almost like the thing has some sort of levitation when you let it go. If I did that, it would fall to the ground at full throttle. Is there enough thrust that it tries to propel itself out of your hand?

Originally Posted by xviper

Yes, works now and even embedded.
I found that so hard to believe that I had to replay it 4 or 5 times. It's almost like the thing has some sort of levitation when you let it go. If I did that, it would fall to the ground at full throttle. Is there enough thrust that it tries to propel itself out of your hand?

Yes. That is at half throttle. (If my hands are wet, it is really hard to hold on to.) The only time I get into trouble is when I give it too much elevator. The trick to hand-launching this plane (and the Stryker) is to just let it go. It will fly just fine without too much input.

Originally Posted by ufale

Yes. That is at half throttle. (If my hands are wet, it is really hard to hold on to.) The only time I get into trouble is when I give it too much elevator. The trick to hand-launching this plane (and the Stryker) is to just let it go. It will fly just fine without too much input.

I would have never believed it had I not seen it. It just seems like the Scimitar is so heavy it wouldn't be able to fly out of your hand. Gotta go look at it again.

PS, Was it extremely windy?

Originally Posted by xviper

I would have never believed it had I not seen it. It just seems like the Scimitar is so heavy it wouldn't be able to fly out of your hand. Gotta go look at it again.

PS, Was it extremely windy?

The winds you hear were 10 to 15 mph, with 20 mph gusts. I find that delta wing planes can handle a lot of wind.

Another question ..... Did you remove the landing gear to reduce weight? I'm wondering if my Eflite retracts would make it too heavy to hand launch like you did.

WOW - Thats some serious flexing of the left wing as your climbing out

My bird is still grounded waiting on parts, btw thats one heck of a long and wide runway.

great video

Have Fun,

FCA

Originally Posted by xviper

Another question ..... Did you remove the landing gear to reduce weight? I'm wondering if my Eflite retracts would make it too heavy to hand launch like you did.

I took my retracts off after my first couple of flights. The plane was so draggy underneath, and the landings were so hard, that I felt like they were better utilized on my P-47. I took off the stock landing gear a few weeks ago, and gave up on trying to land this on its gear. However, I think that the weight of the landing gear would not make any difference to the hand launch. Like I said, I launch this at 50% throttle. There is more than enough thrust to carry the weight of the gear.

Originally Posted by FLAME747

WOW - Thats some serious flexing of the left wing as your climbing out

My bird is still grounded waiting on parts, btw thats one heck of a long and wide runway.

great video

Have Fun,

FCA

Thanks. That "runway" is actually the taxiway for an abandoned runway. The runway is even wider, but I find the taxiway to be a smoother surface.

Originally Posted by ufale

and the landings were so hard

That has been my experience as well. Trying to land on the gear on the runway has been very rough and bouncy. Very hard to do. I have only had one successful, near perfect landing. The rest have been belly landing on the grass, which has been very successful.
Lately, I've been taking off with gear down from the grass to try and save on prop damage when taking off from a gravel runway. However, even the bumpy grass has chipped the blade tips badly. That's why your hand launch has given me some hope. If I can do it like you, the retracts come off for good. They can be used to better benefit on my upcoming BD-5 build.

Ufale,

That was a great demonstrationsl video with good wind present.
Thank you.


I was wondering if you have ever launched it without wind.

Wind makes a big difference.


Gryphon

Originally Posted by GryphonRCU

Ufale,

That was a great demonstrationsl video with good wind present.
Thank you.


I was wondering if you have ever launched it without wind.

Wind makes a big difference.


Gryphon

Yes. I normally start flying just before sunrise...before the winds pick up (I live in a windy place). This plane has so much thrust, that it does not need a strong headwind for takeoff. Landing, however, is a different story. The stronger the headwind, the better the landing.